The weekend of 11 - 12 September saw 50+ people converge on Mark’s house in deepest, darkest Norfolk to fill the quiet country air with the banter of competitive sports, the crackle of fires in barrels and the clinking of wine bottles for 24 hours.

The Edinburgh office and their families were up at the crack of dawn on the 11th in order to catch their flight to Norwich. Once they found their way through the narrow, tree-lined lanes to Mark’s ‘rural idyll’ they set up their tents and got to work on assembling the croquet and starting into the 72 pints of ‘Wherry'. The majority of the London office arrived mid-afternoon, after some commendable driving by Philip and shadowing by Benz, and despite some confusion over (missing) directions.

After some speedy tent erecting (though it was noted that Mark’s tent ended up alone in the middle of the field) there was much hand shaking and imbibing. Some braved the zip line, trampoline and bouncy castle whilst others devised ways to lose their kids in the crèche for the rest of the afternoon.

Most people were hustled into a game of rounders in the field beyond an orchard, where we were privileged to witness various batting styles, heroic fielding and Emily Ruxton being dragged around the bases by her mum. The result was unclear in the end, however I think we can all agree the winner was NOT Iain, whose commitment to the game saw him crash spectacularly into a bush and emerge not only with the ball, but with a nasty looking gash.

The evening brought the arrival of some much needed sustenance, and what a spread there was! Roast pork, sausages & burgers and a very yummy salmon with salsa was followed up by desert to die for: meringues and profiteroles topped off with fresh berries, fruit coulis, choc sauce and thick cream. After all that food, one needed a rest, provided by hay bales and a good old campfire. Whilst there was (fortunately) no guitar-accompanied singing, there was chatting and laughter into the wee hours of the morning when most retired to the relative comfort of their tents.

We awoke to dew-covered grass the next morning, and the enticing smell of bacon, eggs and sausages. As people drifted off to sightsee around the local area, Mark declared the event a massive success, and vowed never ever to have that many people around to his place ever again!